I received quite a few responses to my question regarding alternates to
SGI mice running Alias. I was asked to post the responses. I got
quite a few and they are appreciated. We know about Spacetec's
Spaceball and have quite a few of those here; but we use them in
parallel with regular mice on our HP/Unigraphics stations(left
hand/right hand). I don't know
if they can be used as a direct mouse replacement since we've never
tried it.
I will look into trying that.

Anyway, here are the responses I've received. Thanks to everyone who
sent them in. These lists are a valuable, quick tool for great tips and
advice.

An alternate solution is to get a special mouse pad. I have one called
the mouse areana that was made by Forminco, a Canadian company. It has
a place for my wrist to rest. It's been 3 years since I got mine, but I
think we got it through Egghead.

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Somebody makes a "Space Ball". That is the product name - Space Ball.
The company name escapes me right know, but you might search the
Internet or somebody will come up with the name. It is basically a
"tennis ball" mounted on a pad. Slight, I mean Slight, twitches cause
the pointer to move. It is expensive, but cool, and people doing Pro/E
solid modeling like them alot when they get used to them...

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As you've already mentioned, marble (trackballs) are a good alternative
to
mice (I know several colleagues who swear by them). Also, you might want
to look into a graphic tablet... I think the two frontrunners in this
category are Calcomp (Ultraslate) and Wacom (Art, Artz II, etc)... I'm
sure you shouldnt have too much problems demoing these from any dealer.

Hope that helped.
AcezE (who is eagerly awaiting arrival of a new Ultraslate 6x9" tablet!
:)

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I don't know much about different mice, but I have found the thing that
made
the most difference to my wrist hurting (years of tablet use with
AutoCAD
and mouse use with everything else), is to support the wrist and forearm
with a reasonably large pad. This did much more than changing mice. I
have
a grain filled pad covered in fleece material from a company called
Bucky.
It's about 18 cm by 10 cm by 4 cm high. The little foam ones are
practically
useless, and the fleece material makes a difference, too. You want to
get
your wrist up to the level of the top of the mouse. That, combined with
the
(I hate to say it) Microsoft keyboard, has done more for my wrist than
all
the mice I tried. It also helps a lot to have your elbows supported by
the
arms of a chair.

Because of wrist pain I made the following transitions:
- mouse in rt hand
- mouse in lt hand
- track ball, both hands
- Wacom pen and tablet

It has pretty much eliminated the pain for me.

Good luck!
--
Randy Shively - rshively@erinet.com
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Hi there Sean,
we have similar problems (wrist hurting).
We are using mainly SUN Ultra workstatinons and found the best device
for us is
a mouse-trak manufactured by ITAC Systems Inc. It has a PS2 plug and we
plug it
in to a SUN interface convertor. This convertor also has a jack for the
mouse so
you can use both simulaniuosly. I have been using this device for more
than a
year and have no complaints. My wrist does not hurt anymore. I refuse to
use a
mouse, not only because of the pain but also the action of the
mouse-trak is a
lot nicer.
We have tried the PS2 version of the Logitech Trackman Marble but found
it a bit
clumsy. The mouse-trak has a large ball in the middle and three buttons
around
it. I am not sure if it would work on SGI stations, you would have to
get in
touch with ITAC.
I hope this helps,

For the past 2 years I've been using a touch pad that is an integral
part of my keyboard. Although I never had wrist problems from using a
mouse (I don't use my computer that much) it seems much easier to make
slight movements with my index finger on the touch pad than to move the
entire hand and wrist for manipulating a mouse. On the other hand (pun
intended), a couple of friends have tried the touch pad and eventually
returned to using a mouse. So, personal preferences aside, a touch pad
will not cause a sore wrist. And I find it excellent for working in
Rhino. Another aspect that makes it easy on the hands is that the
keyboard is ergonomic (sometimes called a wave keyboard), so the hands
are always in a natural orientation while doing keyboard entry.
Hope your friend finds a comfortable solution.